


overcast by your shadow (as our worlds move on)

by ambitchiouss



Category: The Haunting of Bly Manor (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-18
Updated: 2020-10-21
Packaged: 2021-03-08 17:48:15
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,774
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27080701
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ambitchiouss/pseuds/ambitchiouss
Summary: And she should’ve said something, she really should have, something like "You’re late", or a stern look thrown in her direction, but as the blonde girl quietly took place at one of the tables and her eyes – one blue, one brown – met the teacher’s ones, Jamie Taylor couldn’t think anything but one thing: I know you. She did not know from where, nor if it was true, but she had this feeling, in her gut, that kept telling her those eyes were not those of a stranger; she had this feeling, in her gut, that kept telling her the universe somehow managed to bring the two of them together, even if it was just for a shared look, even if it was just for unspoken words. And so, since she felt like she’s been knowing her forever, Jamie Taylor didn’t say anything to Dani Clayton: she simply kept talking, going back to where she was, “We’ll study and analyze the scientific aspect of plants and its lives.”Or:Teacher/Student AU, in which Jamie teach botany at Bly Academy and Dani is forced to attend school while looking after Miles and Flora.
Relationships: Dani Clayton/Jamie, Dani Clayton/Viola, Hannah Grose/Owen Sharma
Comments: 32
Kudos: 154





	1. i. poppy

They say America is the Promised Land, where all dreams come true and all lives are lived at their fullest; they say America is the Promised Land, where there is no hate, nor war, nor sorrow; they say many things about America, all of them lies. Dani Clayton, born and raised in the US, knew this better than pretty much anyone else in the whole universe, and that was why she was there, on that day, having traveled all the globe around just to escape her worst nightmares and fears.

“So, Miss Clayton, I see here that you’re twenty years old,” Henry Wingrave, dean and owner of Bly Academy, a strange and out of the books high school located in the empty, hollow middle of Essex, let his eyes rest on a file with information and details about that American girl sitting right in front of him, blonde hair on her face and deep soul behind her eyes, “And that you decided to come here in order to… Have new adventures? That’s why you applied as an au pair for Flora and Miles?” Sure, that might not be the best way to introduce yourself to the man who’s just about to hire you as a nanny for his nephews, but that was the truth, wasn’t it? She just wanted a new life, starting from here, leaving behind ghosts and monsters, men and weddings.

“That’s correct, yes,” but her voice wasn’t shy in saying so, nor did she feel any kind of shame. She was proud to be standing there, proud of her not entirely true motives, and proud to say that she recovered from any previous trauma. Or, at least, that was what she believed, sure that by running away she somehow killed all her demons. Demons that were, in reality, under her bed every night, every day, every hour.

“As I’m sure you know by now, the children live on school premises. They have private rooms, obviously, but they attend school nonetheless. They have the same teachers as high school pupils, but generally speaking, Bly Academy is a very special high school,” _and that would explain why almost no one comes here_ , Dani said to herself, minding not to part her lips and accidentally let any sound slip by, “We do not follow regular academic rules nor indications. It is mandatory that our students live at Bly Manor: they all have their rooms and private spaces, but they cannot return home, exceptions made for holidays and such. I chiefly believe that Bly Academy offers the best education one could ever get. That’s why I’ll hire you at one, specific condition,” and by saying so he raised from the chair, walked around the desk and strode closer to a small table across the room, on which a couple of teacups and a teapot peacefully rested, “When you’re not with the children, you’ll be at school. I’m well aware that you already have your high school diploma, but I want my nephews to be in touch with someone with a higher education. Your school time will match theirs — there won’t be any overlap. You’ll be in Year 13, where you’ll be slightly older than your classmates, a couple of year or so. That’s my condition. That’s Bly Academy condition. What you applied for, being a live-in au pair for two kids like Flora and Miles, is an honorable and prestigious position, and I cannot but choose just the best for them. You’ll be their au-pair, that’s clear enough, but only if you agree in retaking your last year of school, following all the rules by the book as if you were an ordinary student,” the Dean fell silent, his gaze unwavering from Dani as she considered.

Dani took her time to ponder this proposed condition, not because she had any trouble in retaking what was basically her last year of high school, but because there was something about the Dean that almost made her wonder if he was holding all the secrets of the universe, “With all due respect, Mr. Wingrave,” and, by saying so, she basically already lost her skill to respect the man, “I believe that if this position really was honorable and prestigious, you already had a nanny; and I also believe that if this school… Academy, whatever it is, is such a noble place, there would be more than just a dozen of students in it. It’s utterly strange that so few families decided to send off their progeny to study here, isn’t it? But, again, I’m in search of adventures, and Flora and Miles, with Bly Academy right at their shoulders, seems just the perfect place to start from. I’ll be more than happy to be their live-in nanny and attend Year 13 at the same time, Mr. Wingrave.”

After a long, foreboding pause, Henry Wingrave, who has seen and faced many things in his life, decided not to answer nor quarrel about what Dani Clayton just said. She was quite the type. He went instead for, “Very good, then. When you’ll arrive at Bly, Mrs. Grose and the children will show you the surroundings, the manor, and your room,” because that was the fact about Henry Wingrave, Dean and owner of Bly Academy, uncle of Flora and Miles. He was never at Bly Manor, always miles away from it. “Welcome to Bly Academy."

[…]

Jamie didn’t have a last name. Or rather, she did have one, but she didn’t like to speak it out loud, because from where she came from being a _Taylor_ meant you were a whore, or a cuckold, or worse. And so, Jamie Taylor didn’t really like to tell people who she was and where her roots were, and most of the time she acted as if she were born with only the name “Jamie” on her papers. Working at Bly Academy as a botany teacher, though, she needed to be known as something more than just “Jamie”, and so she just accepted the fact that someone was going to know who she was. Or, more realistically, someone was going to know her last name without even questioning it. But that’s the thing about trauma: when it is deep rooted in you, it’s hard to dig it out, and it’s way easier to just believe things that aren’t, actually, possible. Not here, at Bly Academy; not here, miles away from that small, northern town where everybody knew her name and no one her soul.

Jamie stood in the greenhouse — _her greenhouse_ — where the first lesson of Year 13 would soon take place. Her eyes wandered around, slipping through green leaves and purple flowers, dancing between elegant stems and golden petals. Being a teacher was never one of her dreams, but, from a certain point of her life, plants and flowers became her best friends, her lovers, her family. And that’s why a few months ago, when the application form showed up on the newspaper, she decided it would be a nice thing to try. Although she did, at first, think about how weird it was that an ordinary high school — at that time, prestigious name on papers and no weird manors in sight, it did seem ordinary — would teach botany to its students. But a job was a job, and Jamie Taylor couldn’t care less about the reasons that made Henry Wingrave believe botany was a suitable course for a bunch of posh teenagers.

And just like that she was there, ready to write a new chapter of her life, ready to spill out all the secrets she learned when she first grew to love plants. Five years before, when she was a twenty years old girl on the run, she decided to take a botany course on a whim, just because she realized plants could be the best company one could hope for. And now, for that specific event and that specific course, she could actually teach someone else what she learned at that time. How mysterious life is, how easily she brings you where she wants, without you even noticing.

“Good morning,” she said as a couple of students started filling the greenhouse. Her strong northern accent was a stark contrast to the refined inflexions of most everyone else.

 _Good morning’s_ , _hello’s_ and _hi there’s_ started trickling into the greenhouse as the students came in, and five minutes later, she would notice that there was barely a dozen present. Unlike them, she did not live on the premises of the school, but in the previous days, when she came to the premises in order to check on the greenhouse, she noticed that there were very few students. She wondered now if the only students in attendance were those in front of her. _Weird_ , she told herself, _but none of my business_.

When she ascertained that everyone finally arrived, she decided it was time to speak up, “Good morning, guys,” and goodbye to formality! “I am Jamie Taylor, your botany teacher for this year. Even though I don’t like it, I think you should call me Miss Taylor, so we’ll give it a shot,” never been good at talking to people, never will be, “During this year, we’ll study and analyze the—” and just like that, her long-rehearsed speech was cut off by a tardy someone entering the greenhouse. The glass door was wide open and a blonde girl was standing right there, right then.

And she should’ve said something, she really should have, something like _you’re late_ , or a stern look thrown in her direction, but as the blonde girl quietly took place at one of the tables and her eyes – one blue, one brown – met the teacher’s ones, Jamie Taylor couldn’t think anything but one thing: _I know you_. She did not know from where, nor if it was true, but she had this feeling, in her gut, that kept telling her those eyes were not those of a stranger; she had this feeling, in her gut, that kept telling her the universe somehow managed to bring the two of them together, even if it was just for a shared look, even if it was just for unspoken words. 

And so, since she felt like she’d known her forever, Jamie Taylor didn’t say any word to Dani Clayton. She simply kept talking, going back to where she was, “We’ll study and analyze the scientific aspect of plants and its lives.”

[…]

 _Great_. For the whole lesson, all Dani Clayton could think was _great_. The first day and she was late. Sure, it wasn’t her fault, since Flora decided she wanted the best of dresses and Miles started saying he couldn’t go to school without his “key”, whatever that was, but it was not like she could blame the children on her delay. This being said, a lot of weird things happened since she first arrived at Bly Manor, but the strangest one surely was that botany teacher. Not only did she not say anything to her, but she also gave her a look that could shake the whole world to ashes and bring it back to life. Or, in other words: the teacher teacher did not even introduce herself to the new student. She barely acknowledged her at all. Simply treated her as if she’d always been there. The others in the greenhouse just assumed they’d already met, which, if she was honest, was how the student felt when she first saw the young woman.

But by the time the lesson was over, Dani Clayton felt the need to say something, and so she waited until the greenhouse was empty, just the two of them in there. When Miss Taylor raised an eyebrow at Dani's lingering presence, the student and au pair decided it was about time she parted her lips, “Hey, I mean… hi. I mean, good morning! I just wanted to apologize for earlier, I had some prob—”

“Dani Clayton, right? I know you look after Wingrave’s nephews,” the teacher cut in, offering the American her best accent, an accent that in her own opinion could ruin empires and build kingdoms, “But I will not tolerate any other tardiness. It is your responsibility to establish order in your life, not mine,” and by saying so, she started approaching the glass door, leaving Dani with a heavy heart and guilt in her gut.

After a few seconds, however, Jamie Taylor’s head turned in her direction, and, holding the door wide open, she said, “Come on, _Poppins_ ,” a grin flashed across her face, and in that moment, it really felt like the universe wanted them to be right there, right then, right _together_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi there!  
> I firstly want to apologize for any English mistakes: I am Italian, English is not my first language and mine in particular is far from being perfect. I hope that no matter the languages you will still enjoy my story, since I am utterly excited and hopeful for it.  
> I still don't know how many chapters this fanfictions will have, but they will be longer and deeper: this was just the prologue, which I hope you enjoyed.  
> Let me know what you think about it,  
> xoxo, Alessia.
> 
> beta-read by: spench on ao3.


	2. ii. violet

Years from then, when someone – possibly Jamie herself – would tell their story, they’d say that Jamie Taylor was Dani Clayton’s first love – and they’d be terribly wrong. Not because she wasn’t important enough, but because, to put it simply, she really wasn’t the first love Dani ever had. And she wasn’t her second one, either. In a chronological and definitely not of importance order, Jamie Taylor was going to be Dani Clayton’s third love – but, honestly, the only one worth telling a story about. _Third_.

First, there was _him_. Pale skin, curly hair, round eyeglasses – Edmund O’Mara, “Eddie” for her, was all manly kisses and rough skin, big hands and societalprivilege. He wasn’t a bad guy, he really wasn’t, and she ended up loving him in the purest way: she ended up loving him like you love the best friend of a lifetime, like you love that one person that’s always been there for you, and, you hope, always will be. The problem was that she didn’t love him _physically_ , nor _romantically_ , and every night spent between his sheet was a harsh try at being normal. And every morning, waking up, she would realize that Edmund O’Mara was yes, one of the people she cared the most about, but not someone she’d want to spend her life with, sentimentally speaking. So, when he dropped on one knee and took out a shiny, solitaire ring, she was surprised to hear herself saying, “Yes.”

Second, there was _her_. Full lips, emerald eyes, heavenly silhouette – Viola Lloyd, only “V” for her, was all soft kisses and smooth skin, wild soul and revolutionary ideas. Dani met her at a congress about women’s rights that she all of a sudden decided to take part of, and the shivers she sent down her spine were something new, something exciting, something she had never felt before, not even between Eddie’s bedsheets. Next thing she knew, she was pressed against a wall with Viola’s lips on hers, and then on her neck, and then all over her body. It went on for days, weeks, months, until one day Edmund came into Dani’s apartment when he was least expected, and the magic was gone. Viola disappeared, angry at Dani for not telling her she was about to marry a fucking dude. Edmund died, struck by a truck as he went downstairs and onto the streets, right after having discovered the truth, trembling and shaking. And Dani… Well, Dani was cursed and possessed. Cursed by Edmund’s eyes right before he died, that would from that moment on haunt her every night, and possessed by Viola’s love, who’d left without a word, leaving scars and dreams of a love she still had to recover from.

Third, there was _Jamie_.

[…]

Three days at Bly Manor as an au-pair and at Bly Academy as a student, and Dani Clayton was already losing her mind. It wasn’t that the kids were bad kids, but they had moments in which they acted… Weird? Creepy? Dani couldn’t find a suitable adjective, but there she was, looking at Flora’s doll house and wondering why all her dolls looked like someone that she knew. There was a doll for Hannah Grose, the governess, and there was a doll for Owen Sharma, the cook, and there was a doll for Jamie Taylor, the teacher that had been stuck in her head since day one, and there even was a doll for herself, golden hair and pink jumper. As soon as she asked, “Is that me?”, however, Flora Wingrave answered, “Why? No, silly. You’re you. It’s just a dolly,” and that was it. No more questions about dolls, Dani decided.

The third sunset since she arrived there had already disappeared behind the hills that surrounded Bly Manor, and both Flora and Miles were safely tucked in their beds. They already had supper, since Henry Wingrave believed that it was not proper for them to have dinner with a dozen of teenagers that would possibly talk about stuff the children should not hear about. After checking up on them a couple of times, Dani exhaled a deep breath, tired and overwhelmed, and she went downstairs to join the others in the dining hall. She hadn’t really had the chance to meet anyone or to become friends with her classmates, since all she had done until that moment was going to classes and looking after Flora and Miles. She wondered in her heart why she accepted such an unusual offer, but she did know the answer, and she was purposely ignoring it.

As soon as she entered the room, all eyes snapped at her – and she could imagine why. It past 8 pm, which already was late for British standards, and they were all, students and teachers and governesses and cooks, already seated at their tables, spoons and forks in hands. Dani tried to shake the uncomfortable feeling that was possessing her off her shoulders, and she looked for a free seat as people started chatting again, _ignoring_ her again. She found an empty spot on a small table where a couple and some other guys were talking.

“Hi,” she intruded, “Can I sit here?”

“Sure thing,” the girl was stunningly beautiful: she had dark skin and even darker hair, and her eyes were smiling at her.

Dani felt warm for the first time since she arrived there, and she sat down as the girl’s boyfriend – she had seen them a couple of times making out in the gardens – watched her with judgmental eyes.

“I’m Dani,” she introduced herself after a while, “Dani Clayton.”

“Hi, Dani,” once again, it was the girl who spoke, the other one completely silent, “I’m Rebecca. Nice to meet you.”

“Aren’t you the one that looks after Flora and Miles?” he finally said. His voice was hoarse, deep, and dangerous.

The American nodded, adding, “Yeah, I am. I’m the new au-pair.”

“And how come you attend classes every day?” but there wasn’t curiosity in his voice. It was more like an interrogation, as if he was trying to find something wrong about her – and Rebecca must’ve noticed he wasn’t exactly behaving, because she elbowed him, which he ignored.

“That was the pact,” she simply noted, “Wingrave wants an au-pair with the same education the children will one day have. It’s a formality, nothing less, nothing more. I mean, I _do_ already have my school diploma.”

The guy, whose name was Peter Quint, shrugged, “Well, if I were you, I would simply skip class. It’s not like you need it to pass exams, since, as you said, you already have taken them.”

“It’s not that simple. Yes, I already have attended high school, but I must follow the same rules as you two, and any other guy in here. If I don’t, then I’ll be sent back home,” and on that note her voice lowered, “And I cannot go back.”

“Oh, I see. So, you do hide secrets.”

“ _Peter_ ,” Rebecca scolded him, her voice bitter.

Yes, she did hide secrets. She hid an almost marriage that soon became a funeral, and she hid an almost relationship that soon became a ghost. Eddie’s face would have followed her everywhere, but it was Viola’s memories that kept crawling back to her, keeping her awake at night, making her feel galaxies away from reality. Because _that_ was how she felt since Viola left her. She felt as if the woman had brought something away from her. She felt as if she could never return the same, doomed to never feel completely human once again. From the first day Viola left, Dani Clayton hadn’t been able to enjoy a feeling at its fullest, and that was, perhaps, the worst of the curses.

“Yeah, I guess I do,” and just like that her stomach tightened, refusing to accept any more food, and, as she got up, she could feel Rebecca’s apologetic gaze on her, “Sorry, I have to go.”

[…]

Once upon a time, Dani Clayton was a cheerful person, extroverted and all, but now, after everything that had happened to her, she was barely a shadow of herself. Water splashed on her face as she leaned over the sink and, when she got back, she jumped backward. Her eyes fixed on the mirror in front of her, scared, petrified, terrified – her eyes fixed on the vision she saw on the mirror, a vision of her worst day, a vision of her worst nightmare, a vision of her worst memory. Eddie was there, eyeglasses bright from the truck lights and face clenched from rage – it was there, and then it wasn’t.

It wasn’t the first time. It had happened so many times since that day, and yet Dani couldn’t bring herself to ignore it. Every time it hurt a little bit more, and, at every vision, her guilt grew, eating her from the inside. Her breath was short, almost unable to catch, and her hands were tight around the sink, as if she was afraid she could lose touch from reality, as if she was afraid the guilt would swallow her whole. Before she could even notice it, tears were running down her cheeks, hot and heavy and fast, and she needed air, she needed air, _she needed air. Air, air, air_ , was all she could think as she left the bathroom and went into the dorms’ hallway; _air, air, air,_ was all she could think as she went down the stairs, almost falling in the process of doing so; _air, air, air_ , was all she could think as she passed the dining hall, in which students and teachers were still chattering; _air, air, air_ , was all she could think as she opened the heavy door of Bly Academy.

And finally, there was air. So much air she didn’t know how to breathe it, how to inhale and exhale it. Her heart was racing, her hands sweating, her mind drifting away – she knew a panic attack when she saw one, and that’s what that was. A panic attack. One of the many she had since Edmund died, since Viola left. She wanted to implode, to bring her knees to her chest and just, simply collapse – she wanted to become a supernova, or maybe a black hole, or maybe both, or maybe the universe, or maybe nothing. She wanted something – anything, really, but not _this_. She didn’t want this pain, this suffering that was filling like poison in her veins; she didn’t want these memories, this past that haunted her at every corner, at every mirror. She wanted and wanted and wanted, but she never got. She was sobbing uncontrollably as noises started filling up the surrounding area – but she couldn’t hear them. She could sense them, but she couldn’t hear those noises. She was too far away, lost in her collapsing world; she was too far away, unable to reach. Until she wasn’t.

“Dani?” and she heard them, and now she heard _her_ , “Are you okay?”

She didn’t need to turn around, didn’t have to. She could recognize that accent in a thousand, and, instead of looking at her, she attempted to make herself even more invisible, if that was possible, “Yeah, I’m fine. I just…” but what could she say? It was not like she could say she just had a vision of her dead ex-boyfriend, “I just got hiccups.”

“Hiccups, sure,” Miss Taylor replied, and Dani couldn’t but notice how little elegant she was – how different from any other teacher she had ever met Jamie Taylor was. Unusual, sure, but not in a bad way, “Got ‘em all the time around here. You know what I do when that happens?”

“What?” and she slowly turned her face in Jamie’s direction, feeling she could trust her, at least for a while, at least for a moment. She knew how her face must’ve looked like in that moment: flushed, ugly, wet and teary. _Hiccups_ , that’s what it was.

“I fight ‘em. Can’t let them win, you know?” she was wearing a denim overall, Dani noticed, and her brown hair was scattered all around her face, curly and messy, “ _Hiccups_ can be real bastards sometimes, can’t they? They come and go as they wish, holding your breath as they please. Well, get rid of ‘em – ignore them, choke them, scare them, whatever you want. _Hiccups_ , I mean – not the kids nor your classmates, although that wouldn’t be such a bad idea.”

Dani laughed, but it was clear, now, that miss Taylor had overheard her conversation at dinner – because it was also clear that that panic attack – or, as they were calling it, the _hiccup_ – was Peter Quint’s fault. Peter Quint and his questions, Peter Quint and his assumptions, Peter Quint and his dangerous eyes.

After a moment of silence, Jamie talked again, “Look, Clayton,” that’s how she called her in class, when they were in front of all of the other students – but Dani couldn’t forget that one, single time in which she called her “Poppins”, making her heart flutter at the intimacy of the nickname, “You’re doing great. Really, you are. This place can be overwhelming, especially for you. You are, what, five thousand miles from home? You must feel homesick.”

But the point was that she _wasn’t_. Quite the opposite. She needed to be as far as possible from home, and even from there, from the other side of the world, it didn’t seem enough, “Yeah, it must be that,” she wiped off a tear, eyes lingering on miss Taylor’s ones.

Jamie got closer to her, and Dani knew she shouldn’t think such things, since she was her teacher and she still had to follow students’ rules or otherwise she’d be sent back home, but she couldn’t help but notice how deep the blue of her eyes was, how beautiful her features were, how closer, and closer, and closer she was… And when Jamie Taylor stretched out a hand towards her face, Dani Clayton froze. Her heart jumped in her throat, her breath was cut short, her thoughts racing towards some truly inappropriate scenarios. Miss Taylor’s fingers touched slightly Dani’s golden hair, and Dani almost leaned in, only to find out that…

“You had a leaf in your hair,” Miss Taylor said, showing her a deep orange – sign of the incoming autumn – leaf that had been previously resting on Dani’s head.

Dani cursed herself mentally for _almost_ leaning in and risking breaking every single rule on day three, and when the teacher stepped backwards, she exhaled a long, deep sigh. Whether she was disappointed or not, it’s not our place to know. Jamie’s eyes were digging deep down in her soul, as if she understood something, and Dani was almost afraid to look – she hadn’t noticed, she _could not_ have.

“Chin up, _Poppins_ ,” was, instead, all Jamie Taylor said, walking back towards the door, “Chin up.”

[…]

That night, Dani Clayton slept like any other night: nightmare after nightmare, vision after vision. First, there was Eddie. Eddie with his eyeglasses, Eddie with his spilling blood. Second, there was V. V with her passionate touches, V with her pouring lust. Third, there was Jamie, which was pretty much the only dream she had that night, and, as the sun rosed on another morning, she tried as best as she could to hold on tight to that dream.

By the time she reached the greenhouse, the sun was up in the sky, the birds were joyfully chirping, and Rebecca Jessel decided to talk to her.

“Hi, Dani. I hope you slept well,” yeah, Dani hoped so every night as well, and every morning she woke up knowing it hadn’t happened, “I just wanted to apologize for Peter’s behavior. He can be a real dick sometimes.”

They were outside the greenhouse, ten minutes left till the beginning of class, and Peter Quint was nowhere to be seen – _so that’s why she’s talking to me_ , she thought. She felt pity for that girl that was most likely in a toxic relationship, and she made notes to herself to help her at best as she could, “It’s fine, don’t worry,” and Dani smiled. She tried one of those smiles that were once so easy to find on her face, but she only obtained an half-one, because, as we said, Viola Lloyd had stole half of Dani Clayton’s soul as soon as she left, “Want to go in?” the American proposed, gesturing towards the greenhouse.

“I’ll come in a minute, I’m waiting for Peter,” Rebecca answered, and Dani proceeded by entering by herself.

Inside the greenhouse there was only Miss Taylor, who was carefully checking some plants she most likely would have talked about during lessons, “Hello, Poppins,” she said without raising her eyes, as if she sensed Dani was there.

“Good morning, Miss Taylor,” she answered, way more formal than she’d been just the evening before, “I wanted to apologize for yesterday. A bad moment, that’s it.”

At this point, Jamie stopped whatever she was doing and walked around the desk that had been placed there only for the purpose of lessons. Her back leaned against the border of the table and, crossing her arms, she simply said, “You don’t have to apologize.”

“I didn’t wanna bother you.”

“You didn’t. I saw you running outside and I thought you saw a ghost or something,” which, quite frankly, she did. In a way, at least, “Hannah asked me to check up on you.”

“Oh,” _oh_. So, it wasn’t her idea in the first place to run after her. _Stupid_ , Dani said to herself. Once again, she was imagining things, only now they were way more close to reality, and, because of that, way more dangerous, “I see,” and yes, we can now know that she was, in fact, disappointed. Disappointed because, for some unknown reason, she had thought, even if only for a moment, that the teacher had a soft spot for her, and that she had come to her last night because she was truly worried. But no, she did it only because the governess asked her to.

Dani didn’t say anything else, and when her disappointed gaze flashed towards Jamie, the teacher tried to say, “I mean–” but the students started coming in, and the moment was gone.

After that, Dani avoided Miss Taylor’s eyes – and it was stupid, _damn_ , if it was. What did she expect? To become the teacher’s pet? That was absurd, to say the least. She had to stop hoping for stuff that would never happen, and yet… And yet, for a moment, when she still held on that hope, the thought that someone might prefer her over others warmed her heart. A heart that had been cold for months, now.

It was only half an hour into the lesson that someone interrupted Miss Taylor explanation on plant cells. Miss Grose, the governess of Bly Manor, entered the greenhouse – someone was walking right behind her, but from where she was sitting Dani couldn’t see who that was.

“Good morning,” said Hannah Grose, followed by an echo of _goodmorning’s_ coming from the students, “I’m sorry to interrupt you, Miss Taylor.”

“No problem,” Jamie Taylor replied, informal as usual.

“I wanted to announce our students that we’ll have a special guest for the next months, here at Bly Academy,” and, by saying so, Miss Grose stepped aside, and Dani’s heart exploded in a galaxy of stars, “Let me introduce you all to Viola Lloyd. She’s a distant relative of Mr. Wingrave, and she’ll be staying here for some time. It is not unlikely that she will attend class, just out of spite, but she is not in any way a student. You must, therefore, talk to her like you would talk to me, or to Miss Taylor, or to Mr. Wingrave himself. Respect, above all.”

_Away_. Her breath went away, just like Viola did months ago. _Away_.

And the worst of her nightmares became true: Viola spoke, and she spoke with that voice that made Dani Clayton’s weak and fragile, with that voice that had stolen her soul so many weeks ago, “Good morning, everyone. Miss Grose thinks way too highly of me: do not worry, even if you don’t call me “Miss” or, God forbid, “Lady”, you will certainly not be drowned in the lake. I just wanted to say that it’s…” but then it happened, and her emerald eyes met Dani’s brown and blue ones, and both souls started drifting away, “…It’s a pleasure for me to be here.”

In that moment, Dani Clayton knew what Viola Lloyd was thinking, because she was thinking just the same. The real reason Dani Clayton was there was that when she first read the application form for Bly Manor, she instantly knew Henry Wingrave was related to Viola Lloyd, and she knew it because Viola told her, and she went there because she wanted, in a desperate and sick way of living her life, to meet her again. The truth was that Viola Lloyd was like a demon possessing her soul, and Dani Clayton had been feeling the urge to come back to her all those months. _Sick_ , that what it was, and she knew it, but she couldn’t help it.

When she looked away from those frightening, dangerous, luxurious eyes, Dani met Jamie’s gaze, who was staring in her direction, probably because she noticed something was off – and she immediately felt the _difference_. There was, on one side, Viola, and the danger and toxicity she was always carrying with herself; and there was, on the other side, Jamie, and the warmth and familiarity she had felt with her since the first day they met.

Torn between two worlds, Dani felt as if she needed to choose between Heaven and Hell.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we are.  
> Hope you enjoyed it.  
> I want to add a few explanation:  
> 1\. I changed Dani's age, she's now 21. Yes, she is a little older than her classmates, but it just wasn't realistic for her to be only 18, with an almost marriage and a female lover as a backstory, all in the 80s. So I changed it;  
> 2\. I wanted to find a way to have Viola "possess" Dani just like she does at the end of THOBM, and this was the best idea among many. I hope you like this escamotage;  
> 3\. This chapter still needs to be beta-read, so if you find any English grammar/syntax/whatever mistake that's the reason. As soon as one of my beta-readers will answer me, I'll fix it. In the meantime, if someone else is interested in helping and is available for reading in advance the chapters and correcting them it would be great. As I previously said, I'm Italian and no matter how hard I try, my English will never be perfect.  
> Leave kudos and comments if you liked it,  
> they're always appreciated,  
> Alessia.
> 
> UPDATE: revisioned by 1698Queen on AO3.


End file.
